A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

Calvin, Atlas and Rina were roughly a few minutes from arriving at Princewood when Cavlin remembered something he should of told them sooner.

"By the way, I believe we are getting a new professor this year. It just so happens he's actually an old friend of mine."

"New professor? What will he be teaching?" Rina asked, knowing Atlas was wondering the same thing.

"I'm not too sure to be completely honest. Been awhile since we've spoken," Calvin scratched his chin while trying to remember. "He's an interesting character to say the least. I wonder why he's decided to join Princewood though…" Calvin stared out the window as they entered the deep sea.

"Oh, and I called upon another old friend this year as well."

"How many old friends do you possibly have?" Atlas asked with an exaggerated tone.

Calvin stared deep into his eyes, "More than I want to." He paused, "His name is Mooks. He will be working as a professor's assistant this year. For me, and anyone else in need."

"So then why did you ask him to come? Doesn't seem like a fun job." Rina questioned Calvin's remark.

"Because he is a lot more intelligent than I am. He will know what to do incase of drastic measures. And once I told him that Abbadon succeeded with your Laws. Well, let's just say he was already on board."

The train stopped, signaling their arrival at the school. The could see they weren't the first to arrive, nor were they the last. Similar trains were stationed in a line, all leading their steps onto the smooth stone of the underwater station underneath the school.

Calvin handed Rina and Atlas the keys to their new rooms. Atlas had A112, and Rina had B104. Both keys were golden just like last year's, attached to a small white note that had the room numbers written on them. This time, Rina and Atlas were on the same floor, only being seperated by the lounge between their halls.

Calvin said he'd drop off their luggage in their rooms shortly, telling them he would meet up with them and the rest later. Atlas and Rina walked towards one of the elevators near them, seeing the suited enigma awaiting their command.

Atlas said his room outloud, followed by the enigma pressing one of the millions of small buttons in the elevator. The golden doors swung open, and both Atlas and Rina stepped out, slowly beginning to walk down a familiar hall.

The walls were firm, layered with a dark brown lining for a feeling of warmth. The floor was solid, polished to perfection. Small circles were built into the walls, emitting light from a source that was never truly revealed. Some sort of magic no one really bothered to question.

"A110… A111… A112… Guess this is my room." Atlas signaled as he read off the room numbers carved into the wooden doors.

"Oooo, Lemme see," Rina's eagerness overwhelmed her.

Atlas was slightly embarrassed, unsure of what to expect with Rina in his room alone with him. "Are you sure? Shouldn't you, I don't know, go see your room first?" Atlas scratched his head before unlocking the door.

"Oh come on, we can see my room after!"

Atlas sighed and nudged his key into the knob, unlocking the door to his room. As the door swung open towards the inside, a familiar setting presented itself.

A small, yet comfy looking sofa was sat by the corner of the room, accompanied by a twin sized bed next to it. A desk and chair by the window overlooking the garden, and a decently large closet with all his luggage was standing by the door.

Before Atlas could spark a word from his thoughts, Rina jumped on his bed like a princess. Atlas stood motionless until she laid on her side, seeming much more happy than usual, "Wow this place looks cool! My room was terrible last year!"

"Really? How so?" Atlas asked as he was trying to figure out where to sit, only having three options.

Atlas forgot to close the door behind him, catching the attention of someone walking by down the hall.

"Well.." Rina sat back up on his bed, "I guess it wasn't so bad, just incredibly small and thin walls."

Atlas remembered the door, turning around to close it, "I'm sure it this year it will-" He suddenly stopped as he saw Cartuja peeking his head around the corner.

"Atlas?" Rina asked in suspicion.

Cartuja quickly rushed passed Atlas before he could even react to see Rina sitting on his bed, slowly turning his head towards Atlas with a wide grin of approval.

"First day back and my man hittin it up with Rina eh?" He raised his hand to go for a low high-five from Atlas. However, he was quickly struck in the head with a finger flick as Rina jolted up from the bed.

"Yeah, good to see you too," She chuckled, "Guess you've changed a lot, headband." She smirked at the headband Cartuja wore from last year. Red like fire, and just wide enough to keep his hair from falling down. He still wore preposterous clothes that were three sizes too small. No one could truly understand his sense of fashion.

"We just got here Cartuja, I was just showing Rina my room." Atlas said very awkwardly, slightly blushing from the scene.

"Sureeee. Don't worry, your secrets stay safe with me." Cartuja grinned, "Faibel's on this floor too, com' on down to the lounge once you finish your.. Business" He winked at Rina this time. Only to get her eyes rolling backwards for a reply.

They walked out of Atlas's room, heading left towards the lounge.

"EGNOUL!" Cartuja shouted, prompting the large doors to swing open fiercely. The room was lit from the l.u.s.trous rays of sunshine peeking in through the massive windows. The normal fireplace in the center was untouched, only lighting itself with the sunfall in the evenings. The couches were as crystal clean as ever, not a single spec of dust laid upon the velvet cushions around it. The dr.a.p.es were scarlett red, occupied by the golden strings of fine ribbons that held it together near the widows.

Faibel was firmly planted on one of the seats, dragging his attention towards the commotion behind him. "Ah, It seems we are all on the same floor this year. Quite an interesting Coincidence." Faibel introduced his usual persona, nudging his glasses further up his nose.

"Faibel!" Atlas and Rina both said his name simultaneously, rushing over and plopping themselves next to him.

"Been a few months since we've seen you," Atlas said with a tip of excitement, "You ready for year two?

"As ready as I'll ever be, Atlas." Faibel replied with an emotionless voice.

The four of them proceeded to catch up on each other's summer break. Faibel stayed quiet for the most part, and Cartuja just rambled on about random things everyone got a good laugh out of.

Their relentless chatter was soon interrupted by an anticipated announcement that pierced through the dorms. "All students are to report to the Lore momentarily! Please use the closest rift to your disposal, and proceed with saying, 'Lore' outloud. Thank you."

All of the lounges had two silver handles by each entrance that acted as a rift for convenience. Rina, Atlas, Faibel and Cartuja already knew this information from their last year's escape. So it wasn't too difficult for them to arrive at the Lore.

It felt a little nicer than last year. The stadium seemed to be remodeled, even bigger than before. The rows of seats were changed to a more sturdy material, but not too hard to remain its comfort. The counters were gone, giving a clear view of the oval clearing below the countless rows of seats. The area itself seemed brighter, lit up by a fake sky-like ceiling hundreds of feet above. The seats were slowly starting to appear with students, including freshmen and seniors this time.

In the middle, the imperative five stood behind their stands. The rest of the professors stood behind them, roughly 40 or so. The Grandmaster waited for all the students to arrive, slowly hearing the chatter die down.

Atlas turned to Rina, trying to whisper as quietly as he could, "Do you see Laena, Leo or Paris anywhere? I can't find them."

"Me neither, I've been looking, but there's just too many to see." She whispered back.

Atlas turned to Cartuja on his left and was about to ask the same question. However, the Grandmaster finally decided to speak.

"Welcome everyone! To another year at Princewood Academy!" He paused, waiting for the applause to rise, and settle back down.

"This year, we have some exciting news to share. For the first time in twelve years, we have a new professor joining us. Please welcome, Professor Alastor Hellsgate!" The Grandmaster stepped down from his stand.

A man wearing dark, thick clothes stepped forward. His hair was red, colored like the flames from a blazing fire. He had two straight lines of baldness on his temples, only about half a centimeter wide and stretching about five centimeters long towards his ears. It seemed like he took good care of it on a weekly basis, almost seeming quite odd. His eyes were nearly pitch black, leaving room for just a slither of whiteness around his pupils, and a small white dot in the middle. His smile was firm, but his confidence in it was the most disturbing part.

The students clapped loudly for his introduction, continuing until he reached the Grandmasters podium a few steps above the ground.

Rina locked eye contact with Alastor, speaking to Atlas while doing so, "Get a load of this guy. Calvin sure does have some weird friends."

Atlas didn't respond, but mentally agreed as he stared deep into his eyes. Even from so far away, staring into his eyes felt like looking at the devil himself.

"My my my. What a lovely array of students we have here," Alastor spoke in a very light voice, almost like he was trying to hide his true one. "I am greatly looking forward to meeting everyone here," His eyes danced around the Lore, "This will be a truly exciting experience for me! And I hope I can provide the same experience for you all." He finished a short, yet effective introduction, stopping his eyes on Atlas, Rina, Cartuja and Faibel. The students clapped once more, and the Grandmaster took his place back on the main podium.

"Now then!" The Grandmaster's thunderous voice raised any student heads that weren't already paying attention. "Everyone besides freshmen may leave if they choose to do so, the rest of the ceremony will be for the first-years only."

Atlas looked at Cartuja, seeing him immediately grab a small handle next to his seat and say his room number. Everyone else slowly followed suite, leaving Faibel staying behind to witness any new information the Grandmaster might say to the freshmen.

Atlas was rifted to his dorm room in a simple white flash. Rifting from place to place only took about half a second at most in most cases. He walked over towards his desk, seeing a sheet of paper with something written on it in black ink.

The sheet read, Atlas, please come to my office when you get this. Thank you, Calvin. Atlas quickly shuffled over towards the rift in the lounge, seeing Cartuja already there. Cartuja saw him as the doors swung open, "Did ya get the letter from Cal too?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, must be important." Atlas replied, waiting his turn for the rift.

Cartuja gripped the handle and said, "Offices." A white flash appeared for a split second, and vanished along with Cartuja. Atlas followed suite and was soon standing in a large hallway filled with oculus doors on both sides of the hall. Cartuja waited for Atlas to appear, traversing down the hall until they reached Calvin's office, knocking three times on his wooden door.

Calvin opened the door as soon as the third knock landed, greeting them with a welcoming smile. "Ah, Cartuja and Atlas! Great to see you doing well so far! Please, come in." He swung his hand to the side in a polite gesture, followed by them coming inside.

Atlas and Cartuja sat on the available chairs in his office, startled by the creature behind Calvin's desk.

"Atlas, Cartuja, this is Mooks. Mooks, this is Cartuja and Atlas." Calvin signaled to the beast sitting in his chair. A frosted white tiger stared at the boys with glaring red eyes. His fur was clear white like a blizzard, marked with black striations over his body. He stood about 4 feet off the ground, 6 on his legs. A black symbol was covering his puffy c.h.e.s.t, the same one for sagittarius.

Mooks growled, but quickly raised his paw to clear his throat before speaking, "Mhm, Atlas… Cartuja. Very interesting indeed. Two fine looking gentlemen," he said in an awkwardly human voice.

Atlas was still shaking a little in his seat while Cartuja had his hands holding back his head from falling out of boredom.

"Uhm Calvin?" Atlas asked in a weak stutter, "Is that your assistant?"

"I'm glad you asked! Why yes it is. He is also a zodiac, sagittarius to be exact." Calvin said pridefully.

"The Academy allows this?"

"Why sure it does! Mooks is a very intelligent being, smarter than the Grandmaster himself!" Calvin was filled with excitement.

"I think they've heard enough, Calvin." Mooks stopped him in a much more clear voice.

After a few minutes, everyone else started to show up, having the same reaction as Atlas did. First it was Laena, almost passing out on the spot. Leo and Paris came in together, almost killing the beast before Calvin could stop them. Paris was still aloud to bring her katana around campus, making her a target no one wanted to pick on. Leo cut his hair a bit, slightly shorter and still blonde as ever. Rina was the last to arrive, being the first to comprehend the situation quite easily. She even shook his warm paw as a proper greeting, easily getting on Mooks' good side.

"Now that we have everyone here," Calvin rose his voice amongst the chatter between the group, "There's some information I need to share with you."

Mooks jumped up on Calvin's desk, "Yes, they will need to hear this sooner than later."